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» Supported Literacy for Adolescents: Transforming Teaching and Content Learning for the 21st Century

Supported Literacy for Adolescents: Transforming Teaching and Content Learning for the 21st Century

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Written by nationally recognized experts from EDC, this book offers a proven method for developing high-level literacy skills in under-performing secondary students. Introducing the ‘Supported Literacy’ framework, a model extensively pilot tested in both urban and rural schools, the book provides detailed guidance in planning and conducting standards-based lessons and includes extensive case examples from science, social studies, language arts, and special education classrooms. The approach emphasizes competency-building for enabling students to understand complex and challenging academic content and focuses on multiple aspects of literacy—reading, writing, discussion, and digital/media fluency. The framework is especially useful for helping students comprehend difficult academic texts and communicate their interpretations both orally and in writing. Teachers learn how to structure lessons as ‘meaning-making’ cycles in which students 1) engage in content-related questions, 2) respond individually by consulting relevant texts, 3) elaborate their understandings through peer discussions, 4) revisit their findings through critical reflection, and 5) represent their understandings in writing. Tips on modeling and assessment practices as well as practical tools and templates are provided. The book offers extensive guidance on working with special needs and low performing students, featuring a model tutorial intervention program. The work concludes with suggested professional development and leadership strategies for engaging the whole school in literacy-building efforts.